SGB Chapter 113

## Chapter 113: The Unfortunate Former Secretary of State

The officers’ mess at Portsmouth Harbour was abuzz with a dish Arthur had heard much about but had never seen before.

It looked like a freshly baked loaf of bread with a golden crust. But when Arthur cut into it with his dinner knife, he discovered its hidden depths.

The ‘bread’ was layered in three tiers. The outer layer was a mushroom paste mixed with foie gras, brushed with egg yolk. The second layer was a layer of dark red smoked ham, cured to perfection. And the innermost part was a tender and juicy premium fillet steak.

This dish was a favorite of the Duke of Wellington, and in British restaurants, it had naturally earned a fitting name – Wellington Steak.

Arthur cut off a piece of steak and used his fork to send it to his mouth, chewing twice.

Elder, sitting next to him, raised an eyebrow and asked, “How does it taste?”

Arthur put down his fork and nodded. “It’s hard to believe this is a British dish. You know, most of the cooks in London’s common restaurants can’t even make a simple vegetable soup.”

As he spoke, Arthur cut off another piece of steak and placed it on the empty plate next to him, then put it on the window sill.

Darwin, sitting opposite, couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What are you doing?”

Arthur pretended to make the sign of the cross on his chest. “Charles, you know, I’m a devout Catholic fundamentalist. According to the teachings I believe in, when you receive good things, you should share them. I hope to share this joy with the seagulls of Portsmouth.”

Darwin scratched his head in bewilderment. As a clergyman who graduated from Cambridge University’s Divinity School, he had always been skeptical of Arthur’s so-called Catholic fundamentalism. The doctrines and rules sounded like Arthur was making them up as he went along.

Darwin cautiously probed, “Arthur, are you sure you haven’t been misled? Don’t go down the wrong path, you know.”

Arthur nodded slightly. “Don’t worry, Charles. I haven’t joined any church at all. I haven’t met a priest or pastor who I find convincing yet. But you seem pretty good. So, when you finish your global voyage, go find a church and be a parish priest. When you’re not busy, you can give me a baptism.”

Darwin couldn’t help but feel touched. “Arthur, you actually trust me so much, and you’re even willing to convert to the Church of England with my help. I… I really don’t know how to describe you. Arthur, you’re a good brother to me.”

Arthur picked up the tablecloth on the table and wiped his mouth. He nodded repeatedly. “Of course, Charles, don’t be polite with me. We’re all good brothers. Even if you have a sudden urge one day and announce that you’re an atheist, I’ll still support you.”

As he finished speaking, a raven with crimson eyes swooped in from outside. It stretched out its claws, grabbed the steak on the plate, and flew away.

Elder whistled. “Whoa! Seems like the seagulls are out of luck today. All the steak went to the raven’s beak.”

Arthur glanced at him and said flatly, “Elder, I bet you a penny that the steak won’t end up in the raven’s beak. It’ll probably go into the devil’s belly.”

“You’re joking again.”

Elder stirred his teacup with a spoon and asked, “By the way, how did you get General Codrington to think so highly of you today? Look at him. His old face is smiling like ten-year-old leather boots. He looks like he wants to marry his granddaughter off to you. If I didn’t know his identity, I’d think he was a mental patient from Bethlem Royal Hospital.”

Arthur cut the steak while speaking. “Nothing big. I just published a paper at the Royal Society. It just so happened that the paper was co-authored with Michael Faraday, so General Codrington mistakenly thought I had Faraday-level expertise in electromagnetism.”

Elder furrowed his brow. “Does General Codrington like science? Then… Arthur, do you think you could…”

Before he could finish, he saw Arthur raise his hand to stop him.

Arthur said, “My scientific knowledge is enough to fool naive girls, but if you want to use it to deceive General Codrington, I’m afraid he’ll stuff you into the cannon of the Conqueror. Besides, if you really want to do some scientific research and write some groundbreaking papers, there’s clearly someone here who’s more suitable to teach you than me.”

“Who?”

Arthur pointed to Darwin opposite him. He said to Elder, “If you can get on Charles’ good side, I guarantee you’ll immediately replace your uncle as the most successful member of the Carter family.”

Elder heard this, first disdainfully glanced at Darwin, and then even more disdainfully glanced at Dickens beside him.

He casually asked, “Which Charles are you talking about?”

Arthur spread his hands towards Elder, then leaned back in his chair and said, “You can get on the good side of whichever one you want. I think they’re both good choices.”

The two Charleses, upon hearing this, almost spoke in unison: “Arthur, you’re exaggerating. Compared to you, I still have a lot to learn.”

Arthur, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows and say to Elder, “See, Elder? That’s why they’re big shots. They’re humble while they’re studying hard.”

As he spoke, Arthur turned to Dickens and asked, “Charles, you said earlier that there was a problem with the opening ceremony. What happened?”

Dickens, upon hearing this, put down his knife and fork and sighed. “Arthur, you don’t know. It’s a good thing you weren’t responsible for security at the opening ceremony today, or you’d definitely be blamed for this.”

Darwin heard this and asked, “Did the train derail?”

Dickens shook his head. “Worse than that.”

Elder pinched his chin and said, “Did the Duke of Wellington who attended the ceremony derail?”

Dickens hesitated. “It does have something to do with the Duke of Wellington.”

Elder gasped. “Did the Duke of Wellington derail with William Huskisson, the former Secretary of State who attended the ceremony?”

Arthur couldn’t listen anymore. “I don’t think they have that kind of relationship. If they were really that close, the Duke of Wellington wouldn’t need to specially use the opening ceremony to reconcile with Mr. Huskisson.”

Dickens sighed. “That’s right. They both wanted to use this opportunity to announce to the world that the Huskisson faction would return to the Tory party.

Everything went smoothly at first. The two gentlemen boarded the first train together. The Duke of Wellington was excited about the incredible speed of the ‘Northumberland’ train.

My colleagues who went to report said that Mr. Huskisson was exhilarated by the successful opening of the railway, and the Duke was shouting excitedly on the train, ‘This speed is incredible! This thing flies like a cannonball! It’s only slightly slower than the French!'”

Elder couldn’t help but cover his mouth. “Isn’t that great? It sounds like the opening ceremony was very lively!”

Dickens nodded. “If things had continued along this trend, it would have been a perfect opening ceremony. But unexpectedly, after the train arrived at the station, the Duke of Wellington was standing on the carriage talking to Mr. Huskisson below.

Just then, the ‘Rocket’ train, which had left later, suddenly arrived. Mr. Huskisson was standing on the tracks at that moment. He saw the ‘Rocket’ heading towards him and collapsed on the ground in fright.

Although the ‘Rocket’ braked hard, it was inevitable that it would knock Mr. Huskisson flying over ten meters.”

Arthur, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but take a deep breath. “What happened to Mr. Huskisson later?”

Dickens sighed sadly. “Don’t even mention it. Although Mr. Huskisson was carried onto the train and rushed to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment, he died of blood loss a few hours later.

The Huskisson faction’s MPs were furious. Some of them suspected that Mr. Huskisson’s death was a conspiracy.

They questioned why none of the police responsible for security at the scene or the engineers who designed the railway had reminded Mr. Huskisson not to stand on the tracks, nor had anyone informed him that another train was about to arrive.

The Duke of Wellington is now in a frenzy because of this. The Scotland Yard and the railway company, under pressure from the Huskisson faction, have also launched investigations into Mr. Huskisson’s death.

So, Arthur, you were incredibly lucky today. When I heard the news, I thought you were finished. Later I learned that the Scotland Yard officer in charge of managing the security of the venue was temporarily replaced. Thank goodness for that.”

Arthur, upon hearing this, suddenly looked up at the coastline outside the window and asked, “Who was the top commander of the Scotland Yard security team at the opening ceremony today?”

Dickens, upon hearing this, took out his notebook and flipped through a few pages before answering with certainty.

“Ah! Found it. The Scotland Yard officer in charge of the opening ceremony today was Inspector Taylor Clements.”

(End of Chapter)